Danganronpa: Nanami
by IntenseYassQueen
Summary: This story is a Super Danganronpa 2 rewrite with Chiaki Nanami as the protagonist. There will be different events, interactions and murders than the base game whilst still following its formula.
1. Chapter 1 - Game: Start

"U-Um, Miss... a-are you alright?"

Those words echoed through my ears as I slowly began to regain consciousness. I lazily opened my eyes to see a figure standing above me. Before me was a girl, around my age. She had purple eyes, dark purple choppy hair and wore a nurse's uniform.

"C-Can you hear me...?" She asked in a soft concerned tone.

I lazily sat up and rubbed my eyes sleepily with the sleeve of my hoodie. I looked up at her and gave a slight nod whilst giving her a gentle smile.

"O-Oh that's good..." She said, smiling as well. "Y-You seem pretty o-out of it...we all are...a-after we were put i-in this...strange situation..."

At the time, I didn't understand what she meant. I sat up off the ground and as soon as I did I felt two arms lock around my back. I jumped at the action initially, however once I heard her sobs my demeanor changed. I stroked the purple haired girl's hair gently.

"I... I just want to go home...!" She cried desperately.

I continued to pat her on the head, wrapping my arm around her back to support her. I then took a look around and the realization hit me. I was on an island. A real island with palm trees and coconuts and such, the type you see in 'Super Mario Sunshine.' Then I had another question for myself. Why _was_ I here? I certainly didn't remember coming here, so why was I suddenly on this island? I began to think as an attempt to untangle all the knots from my mind. I slowly began to gather fragments of scattered memories and pieced together what had happened.

 _It wasn't just any regular day for me. Today was a truly special day. I finally stood outside the doors of Hope's Peak Academy, or HPA for short. Looking up at it I couldn't help but feel proud of myself. It was a school which guaranteed success for all its students. If you liked baseball, you would play on a major-league team. If you liked music, you'd be a famous musician. If you were a dancer, you'd be a famous dancer worldwide and so on. Hope's Peak Academy is a government funded school for that of the elite society. It recruits students from every field imaginable to inspire hope and in doing so, shape the future. Many of the current leaders of various fields are in fact alumni of this school. That's the gist of it, basically HPA is a school of hope. There are two requirements to get into Hope's Peak Academy. 1. Be already enrolled in high school. 2. Be the very best at what you do. The students at Hope's Peak are called 'Ultimates'. Me? Well, it's a little hard to introduce myself sometimes, but here I go. I'm Chiaki Nanami, the Ultimate Gamer. Video games are my hobby and I'm a fan of all genres. I soon began to lose consciousness yet again._

 _When I came to, I was in a classroom, sitting in a seat. I held my GameGirl in my hand. I placed it on the desk and looked up. In the doorway was a boy with brown hair. I remember him well, it's hard to forget that hairstyle. Around me were also other students. They were having a conversation which I found hard to follow due to my drowsiness. I remember hearing a voice, a new one which sounded kind of strange. I quickly looked up from my game._

" _Who's there?! Where are you?!" A large muscular boy screamed._

" _It sounded…. like it came...from behind the teacher's desk…" I said sleepily, pointing towards the desk._

" _Alright! I see everyone has arrived! Let's begin!" The voice said loudly._

 _Then out of nowhere. A made a stunning entry as it emerged from behind the teacher's desk._

" _W-What is that?" A girl with long blonde hair asked, visibly still confused._

" _Um... it looks like a stuffed animal…" A girl with bright red hair replied._

" _That's right. I am a squeezably soft stuffed animal." The rabbit said proudly. "Magical Miracle Girl Usami, AKA Usami. I may not look like it, but I'm your sqeezably soft teacher. It's nice to meet you all!"_

 _That was the last thing I remember before my head_ _crashed onto the desk in front of me._


	2. Chapter 2 - Caretaker

I shook my head again, bringing myself back to reality. That's why I was here. It didn't make sense at first, in fact it was a completely nonsensical situation. I just figured the rabbit was some kind of animatronic and I shrugged it off. I looked up and realized the girl was still clinging onto me. I moved my hands around her back and patted it gently. After a few moments her sobs ceased and she loosened her grip around me, loose enough for me to wiggle out of. I poked her shoulder and she released me completely. I took a step back and a sigh left my lips followed by a gentle smile.

"Hi, my name is Chiaki Nanami." I said gently, extending my right hand for a handshake. "What's yours?"

It took a couple seconds for the girl to respond. She just stared at me, as if she was unsure if she should reply. The girl gulped audibly, her eyes not leaving mine.

"M-My name is M-Mikan Tsumiki…" The girl said timidly. Mikan gripped my hand and squeezed it tightly. "I-I hope we can get along!" She said loudly, maybe a bit too loudly.

I nodded in response and she released my hand. The girl quickly put her fingers to her mouth and began mumbling something to herself.

"Hey, Mikan." I said trying to get her attention. "If you're here you're an Ultimate right? What's your talent?"

The girl placed her hand back at her side as quickly as she put it there and returned her focus towards me.

"R-Right!" The purple hair girl exclaimed. "Nurse… I-I'm the Ultimate Nurse. T-That's my talent…" Mikan said with a smile. She seemed proud of herself, that was clear to see even through her naturally timid demeanour. "I-If y-you're Chiaki N-Nanami y-you're the U-Ultimate G-Gamer right?"

I nodded in response.

"Right, I am, but how did you know that?" I asked curiously.

"W-Well, I looked up everyone o-on a forum online b-before I c-came here." The nurse said softly.

"Oh, right. I've seen a couple those." I replied.

Suddenly we witnessed the appearance of a rabbit, the one from before to be exact.

"Love, Love!" The bunny exclaimed.

"Kyaa!" Mikan screamed as she jumped back in fear.

The nurse stumbled a bit before ultimately ending up on her rump in a compromising position with her legs spread wide apart. I covered my eyes with my hand and extended a hand to help her up. She gripped it firmly and using all my weight, I pulled her up from the sand.

"Are you alright?" The rabbit asked.

Mikan nodded in response and the rabbit seemed to sigh and placed its paws on its hips.

"Well, that's good." The bunny said happily.

"Hey, what are you?" I asked curiously.

"Well, I'm Magical Girl Usami." The rabbit exclaimed proudly. "I'm your teacher."

Part of me wanted to gag at the mention of 'magical girl'. Those types of shows were never my favourite. Then it hit me. The rabbit was our teacher? The only logical assumption was that our real teacher was piloting this animatronic. It was still pretty hard to wrap my head around all of this. Why all this? Was this a normal HPA welcome?

"Alright, Usami right? How do we get out of here?" I asked as I looked around my immediate field of view for a boat or plane.

"You have to collect all the Hope Shards." Usami replied.

"H-Hope… Shards..?" Mikan asked timidly as ever, still visibly terrified of the appearance of Usami.

"Hope Shards. You get them from meeting the other students on the island." The bunny replied, this time in a softer tone in an attempt to sooth Mikan.

I let out a yawn. It was still early and I was kind of tired, but if we had to meet other students to get out of here so be it.

"Alright, we'll do it." I said somewhat lazily.

Usami nodded and just as easily as she appeared, she vanished. Mikan shrieked once more and fell backwards in my direction. Luckily for her, I caught her by the armpits.

"Easy girl." I said, giggling a bit.

Mikan's face turned a slight shade of crimson.

"I-I'm sorry! Please forgive me!" She begged.

"It's fine, really." I said softly, trying to not make her feel worse with my usual 'don't care-ish' tone. "Maybe a little less loud next time."

The nurse nodded frantically in response.

"So where to now?" I asked curiously.

"Well, t-there's an airport, o-over that way." The nurse said pointing to the direction of the airport. "D-Do you want to go there?"

"Sure." I replied.

I began walking in the direction Mikan had pointed me in and she hurriedly followed.

I wasn't really enthusiastic about meeting everyone, but if it was something had to be done, I suppose I'd have to do it. Mikan seemed nice though, a bit strange, but nice nonetheless. Maybe we could become friends? I couldn't think about that right now though. I needed to collect these 'Hope Shards'. Every step I took I was hit by the breeze of the island. Hopefully I'd be out of here soon.


	3. Chapter 3 - Airplanes

Mikan and I didn't really talk much during our journey. It was mostly just small talk.

"So do you...want to go in?" Mikan asked.

I nodded in response and I opened the metal gates to let us both in and we went into the interior. The first thing I noticed was the abundance of planes around the area. Surely that was our way out.

"Hey, Mikan couldn't we use those planes to escape this island?" I asked her.

"Nah, that's impossible." A voice replied.

I jumped a bit at it. I didn't notice someone else was here. Behind me was a boy with magenta hair. He wore a yellow jumpsuit.

"Eeek!" Mikan shrieked.

It was obvious she didn't notice him either.

"Sorry for scaring ya." The boy said in an apologetic tone as he placed his right hand behind his beanie.

"I-It's fine..." Mikan replied, still a bit surprised.

"You we're saying that it was impossible to leave using the airplanes?" I asked curiously.

"The planes seem like they're just for show." He replied.

"J-Just for show...?" Mikan asked timidly.

"The engines have been completely removed. Nothing I can do about that." He said, crossing his arms.

I placed a finger against my chin. Completely removed? Whoever brought us here must have done that too right? The one that's controlling Usami? Why this go to this length though? Why all this? The more I thought about it, the less sense it made.

"Oh right, you and I haven't been introduced right?" The boy asked, returning his hands to his sides.

"That's right." I replied. "My name is Chiaki Nanami and my friend here is Mikan Tsumiki."

Mikan gave him a little shy wave, which he awkwardly returned.

"Well, name's Kazuichi Soda. I'm the Ultimate Mechanic. Nice to meet ya." He said giving us a thumbs up.

"Right, so I assume you know what you're doing if you're the Ultimate Mechanic. The planes must truly be beyond repair right?" I asked curiously.

"Yep. Whoever did this planned this out to a T." He replied.

Mikan placed her hands on her head and started to have a little panic attack as realized what was going on. I moved closer to her and hugged her like I did before, gently stroking her hair. Kazuichi gave us a weird look, but he wasn't too bothered with the scene. After a few seconds Mikan calmed down a bit. She returned the hug and for a few more seconds we hugged it out.

I released her and placed my hand on her shoulder.

"Feeling better?" I asked her, softly.

Mikan nodded.

"Y-Yeah... I am... Thank you, Chiaki..."

"Hey, Ibuki. You've been awful quiet." Kazuichi said, looking over to his left.

I looked in that direction as well and sure enough, there was a girl with long black hair with blue, pink and white highlights in it. She wore a sailor's uniform with a with a black pleated skirt and ripped thigh highs. She was bouncing up and down energetically in her seat. It took a couple seconds for Ibuki to realize she was called. She was busy listening to pop music with some kind of pocket sized MP3 player through her headphones which were in her ears. She took the headphones out her ears as soon as she realized Mikan and I were there.

"Oh haiiii! Is it Ibuki's turn to talk? Hello!" The girl said cheerfully as she waved at us.

I gave her a little wave as well. Mikan, on the other hand, stood there frozen and startled by Ibuki's loud voice.

Kazuichi placed his thumb and index finger on the bridge of his nose.

"You gotta forgive her, Mikan. She's a bit loud." He said.

Mikan nodded in response.

"So, Ibuki. What's your talent?" I asked curiously.

Ibuki quickly stood up and placed her hands on her hips.

"Ibuki is the Ultimate Musician!" She exclaimed energetically.

Mikan tapped my shoulder gently.

"T-This girl is the U-Ultimate Musician." Mikan said timidly "S-She used to play i-in an all-girls band. A-Actually their single 'A-After School Poyoyon Hour' s-sold over a million copies."

"That's right!" Ibuki said enthusiastically. "Is this cute girl here a fan of Ibuki's?"

Mikan's face turned a bright crimson at being called a 'cute girl'. So much in fact, she started to squeal which rewarded a chuckle from me and Kazuichi.

"Y-You really think so…?" Mikan asked shyly, still blushing furiously.

"Of course, you're really cute!" Ibuki said happily. "I didn't catch your names though."

"M-My name is Mikan T-Tsumiki… I-I'm the U-Ultimate Nurse." Mikan said as she waved shyly at her.

She gave Ibuki a smile. It wasn't a shy one. It was a large genuine smile. In fact, she was smiling from ear to ear.

"T-Thank for f-for the compliment that was the n-nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." Mikan said, happy as can be.

"Oh, it's no problem!" Ibuki said excitedly. "What about you?" She said pointing to me.

"My name is Chiaki Nanami. I'm the Ultimate Gamer."

Ibuki nodded and placed her hands on her hips.

"It was nice to meet both of you, but Ibuki's going to look around the island more! Ta ta~!" Ibuki said excitedly before hastily running out of the airport.

Kazuichi placed his hand on his forehead.

"Christ, man." He said, sighing afterwards.

"She's really energetic, huh?" I said, giggling.

"Yeah, she is." He replied. "Hard to control too. We just met a couple minutes ago and I already feel like I'm looking after her. I just hope she doesn't run a muck for the others."

"She'll be just fine." I replied.

"Also, don't worry 'bout the planes. I'll think 'a something." He paused. "I hope…"

I nodded in response.

"I'm sure you will. You ready to go Mikan?"

Mikan just shyly nodded.

We both waved to Kazuichi as we exited the airport and he waved back, smiling at us.

"S-She called me cute…" Mikan muttered to herself.

I chuckled at how flustered Mikan was. It was extremely cute to watch her like this.

"A-Ah!" The nurse said in a high pitched voice. "Y-You're right! I'm ugly! Please forgive me for thinking such things!" Mikan begged.

I was surprised by her reaction. It appeared as if she took my chuckle as something more.

"But, I didn't say anything." I responded, shrugging as I did.

"Y-You're right…" Mikan replied.

She was clearly embarrassed about her mistake.

"So, you ready to look around some more?" I asked.

"Y-Yeah…" Mikan replied.

We both left the airport. I thought about our situation as we walked. The engines were removed? It was extremely strange. Wouldn't we be using the planes to get out? It was hard to admit, but I was kind of worried. I couldn't dare let Mikan see. I was worried about her too. She was extremely fragile. I wonder what would happen if we couldn't leave? That'd hurt her too badly. In fact, it hurt me. So, I tried to stay optimistic as I put one foot from the other. I probably could never get used to this island breeze. It was way different than back home.


	4. Chapter 4 - Acreage

The two of us walked around the island for a couple minutes. I noticed a sign that said 'farm'. I stopped and stared at it for a few seconds. Mikan noticed me staring at the sign for an unusually long period of time.

"What's w-wrong?" The nurse asked, concerned.

"It's nothing." I replied.

"I-Is it something I-I did?" Mikan asked, now frantic.

"I just said it was nothing." I said pouting.

"Ah! I'm soooooorry! Please forgive me!"

I slapped my hand onto my face. It was really too early for this.

"Look, we should probably go to the farm." I said, pointing towards to farm. "Maybe someone's there."

She nodded and we entered the farm.

The farm was, in fact, completely normal. It had everything you'd usually find at a farm. I smiled widely. I had never been to a farm, but I had always liked them. Mikan opened her mouth as if she wanted to speak, but no words came out.

"What's wrong?" I asked, still grinning like a fool.

"I-It's nothing!" She replied.

I nodded and I noticed a noise coming from the left of me. It sounded like clapping. I turned and sure enough it was clapping. An extremely muscular boy was watching a small girl dancing. It looked like a traditional Japanese dance.

"Wow Hiyoko, you've improved in such little time."

The girl grinned widely and bowed.

The muscular boy soon realized we were there and turned to face us.

"Oh, hello!" He said loudly, yet in a friendly tone.

"Hi." I replied, waving to him.

Mikan, on the other hand, jumped and let out a loud 'Eep'.

"Is she alright?" He asked, visibly concerned.

"She'll be fine." I replied.

I took a couple steps closer, as did Mikan soon after I.

"My name is Chiaki Nanami, I'm the Ultimate Gamer." I said, slightly afraid, now that I was seeing the boy up close. ""T-This is my friend Mikan Tsumiki..."

Mikan waved at him shyly, trying not to make eye contact.

"I'm sorry Chiaki, but I'd like to hear her introduce herself. Mikan introduce yourself! Show me your spirit!" The boy exclaimed.

Mikan became frantic. She placed her hands above her head just like she did before. She was so scared, in fact, she began to drool as well.

"S-Should I take my clothes off? Should I take my clothes off?!" Mikan mumbled to herself.

After hearing that I raised an eyebrow. I was extremely concerned. What would make her say something like that? The boy didn't seem to mind though. He was determined to get her to introduce herself.

"Mikan!" He yelled.

"I'm soooorry!" Mikan screamed. "My name is Mikan Tsumiki, I'm the Ultimate Nurse! I'm a-also a disgusting whore!"

Mikan fell to her knees and began to sob loudly.

"W-Woah, is she alright?!" He asked, clearly concerned.

I quickly rushed to her side and tightly hugged her. I wasn't the biggest fan of hugs, but it worked before to calm Mikan down and I didn't want to cause a scene.

After a couple seconds I released her.

'"Feeling better?" I asked, smiling gently.

Mikan just nodded and smiled back.

"I'm sorry Mikan..." The boy said in a gentler tone. "I shouldn't have forced that on you."

Mikan shook her head and smiled.

"No, it's fine. I-I needed that." She responded. "I never got your name, sir."

"I'm Nekomaru Nidai and I'm the Ultimate Team Manager!" He said in a loud, enthusiastic voice. "This here is Hiyoko Saionji, her talent is the Ultimate Traditional Dancer."

I looked over to Hiyoko. She was giggling to herself as she watched us.

"What's wrong?" I asked as I raised an eyebrow.

She just keep giggling for a couple of seconds, soon laughing out loud afterwards.

"That was just too good! Waaay to funny!"

"T-Too funny...?" Mikan asked widening her eyes. "O-Oh... Please, forgive me!" She pleaded.

This just caused Hiyoko to laugh even harder.

"Is she usually like this?" I asked, cocking my head.

"I don't know" He replied as he shrugged. "She seemed pretty nice when I met her twenty minutes ago."

I let out a sigh and crossed my arms. I was pretty annoyed at this.

"Hey, it's not nice to laugh at others like that." I said, pouting as I did.

She stopped laughing and looked at me. She stared at me for a solid two seconds, her eyes slowly narrowing as she focused on me more and more.

"Huh? What's a nerd like you going to do about it?!" She said giving me a death stare. "She even said it herself! She called herself a 'disgusting whore', so that's what she is!"

"I guess you don't only look twelve, you act like it too." I said nonchalantly, yet giggling to myself internally.

The sentence caused Mikan to place her hands over her mouth. Tears started to fall from Hiyoko's eyes and she looked at me angrily.

"N-Nekomaru! Do something!" She begged.

"It's what you get in all honesty..."

She just started to cry louder. We all covered our ears. It was a terrible sound. This went on for half a minute more before she suddenly stopped crying.

"I-Is she finished...?" Mikan asked timidly.

Hiyoko turned to Mikan and stared her down.

"Did I say you could talk, slut?!" She asked angrily.

"I'm s-sorry! Please forgive me!"

I sighed audibly. I honestly didn't feel like dealing with this.

"Anyways, I'm gonna squish lots of Mr. Ants now!" Hiyoko said eagerly.

She bent over and placed her hand above her head and pointed with her index finger. Before she was about to poke one of the ants a hand grabbed her arm.

"Wah?" The traditional dancer said, surprised.

I looked over to the hand that grabbed her. It wasn't a familiar face. It was a boy who looked strange. He wore black and purple and had one red eye which appeared to be a contact.

"Don't you dare..." He said in a deep, menacing voice.

Hiyoko honestly didn't care. She turned around and spat in his eye.

"Ah! The witch spat upon me!" He exclaimed.

Hiyoko just giggled and pressed her finger onto the ground, nearly hitting the ants.

"Don't you lay a finger on those creatures!" He yelled angrily.

Nekomaru quickly ran in between them and seperated them. He picked up Hiyoko and placed her over his shoulder, much to her dismay.

"H-Hey!" She yelled pounding on his body.

"I'm uh, really sorry for this." Nekomaru said, clearly upset with the situation. "We're going to go now. I'll see you all later."

With that, he left. Hiyoko wailed and screamed as she was carried away. It was extremely annoying to listen to. I turned my attention towards the boy. He looked extremely angry.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

He soon calmed down after hearing my question.

"I suppose so." He replied. "I suppose you want my name?"

I nodded in response.

"I am Gundam Tanaka of the Tanaka bloodline!" He said loudly. "Born of both angel and devil blood, I am the one who all mortals fear!"

That introduction sounded like something straight out of an anime.

"Ok..." I responded, slightly weirded out. "What's your talent?"

"Ultimate Breeder." He responded.

"Right. My name is Chiaki Nanami, I'm the Ultimate Gamer." I said. "This is my friend Mikan Tsumiki, she's the Ultimate Nurse."

Mikan shyly waved at him, a bit frightened by his appearance.

"Is she alright?" Gundam asked, noticing her fright.

"She's fine. She's just a bit jumpy at times." I responded.

"Jumpy, you say? I may have something that may help with that." He said. "Go my Dark Devas of Destruction!"

After he said that, four hamsters emerged from his clothing. He held out his hands and one of the hamsters jumped into it. He was quite chubby. Gundam walked over to Mikan and held out his hand. Mikan also held out hers and the hamster jumped into her hands. Mikan held it and stared at it.

"You can pet him if you chose, he won't bite."

Mikan nodded and touched him with her index finger. She stroked him a little bit before losing her fear and petting him. She smiled as she did.

"H-He's cute..." Mikan said happily. "What's him name?"

"That is the legendary Deva, Cham-P" He said proudly.

"I-It's nice to meet you Cham-P..." She said sweetly.

After a couple more seconds she handed the hamster back to Gundam.

"T-Thank you Gundam..." Mikan said shyly.

"It's no problem." He responded. "I only ask that you remember the Tanaka name."

Mikan nodded as she smiled at him.

"Ready to go now Mikan?" I asked.

"Y-Yeah, let's go." She said. "I-It was nice to meet you Gundam."

He nodded in response and waved at us. We waved back before exiting the farm.


	5. Chapter 5 - Effigy

"What was her deal?" I asked as we had now exited the farm completely.

"Hiyoko?" Mikan asked.

I nodded in response.

"I don't know. S-She's always been like that." Mikan replied. "Appearently s-she's had it rough..."

"That doesn't excuse her behaviour."

"R-Right.." Mikan said.

We walked for a couple more minutes and we saw a bridge. I noticed Mikan was clearly scared at the sight of it.

"You alright?" I asked, concerned.

"Y-Yeah..." She said in a very soft, frightened tone.

"You don't seem alright."

"W-Well, b-bridges are kind of scary..." She replied. "T-They could fall at a-anytime...the thought of that is j-just too much..."

I audibly sighed, but then couldn't hold back a gentle smile afterwards. She was kind of cute when she was frightened like this. A fear of bridges was something new. I hadn't heard of it before.

"It isn't gonna fall you know." I said.

"I...I know... but...what if it does!"

In that moment, I held her hand tightly.

"If I hold your hand would you feel better?"

She nodded in response and firmly gripped mine as well. We began crossing the brigde together. I couldn't help but think about what Mikan had said before about taking off her clothes. She clearly had to have been through a lot to say that. We crossed an on the other side.

"A-A park..?" Mikan said to herself in confusion.

Sure enough, she was right. Right before us was indeed a park.

"What's a park doing in the middle of the ocean...?" I asked myself.

Mikan heard my question and turned to face me.

"M-Maybe they're trying to make us feel really welcome?" Mikan asked, somewhat frightened.

It was hard to pinpoint what she was thinking about. Maybe she was thinking about how she may not be able to get home because of how nice this park looked. Maybe she thought they'd be forcing us to stay here. Maybe she just doesn't like parks. Who knows. I looked above us and saw a large statue of some bronze animals.

"W-Wah!" Mikan exclaimed.

"What's wrong?" I asked, concerned.

"T-That statue is really scary!" She replied.

"It is kind of freaky isn't it?"

"Y-Yeah...what's something that that d-doing here anyways?"

I shrugged.

"Dunno, some parks have statues like this, I guess."

I looked around the park a bit. I noticed we weren't alone. There was an overweight boy along with a muscular, tan girl. It took a couple seconds for the boy to notice us.

"Hello. Who are you?" He asked.

"Oh, hello." I responded. "I'm Chiaki Nanami, the Ultimate Gamer. This is my friend Mikan Tsumiki, the Ultimate Nurse."

"Right, nice to meet you. My name is Byakuya Togami, Ultimate Affluent Progeny. Akane, introduce yourself."

The girl next to him stopped staring at the statue and looked at us.

"Oh, yo!" She said with a wide grin. "Name's Akane Owari, Ultimate Gymnast."

"It's nice to meet you both." I responded. "What's up with that statue?"

"No clue." Akane responded. "It's just kinda weird lookin'"

"M-Maybe it symbolizes…this island…." Mikan said. "A-Ah! Forgive me I spoke o-out of turn!"

"How so, Miss Tsumiki?" Byakuya asked, raising an eyebrow as he did.

"Ah! I just said something that came to mind!" The nurse exclaimed. "Please forgive me!"

"Hmph… Useless…" Byakuya said bluntly.

"W-Waaah?!" Mikan exclaimed. "I'm sooooorry!"

Mikan quickly gripped tightly to his arm and began sobbing loudly. So much in fact that her tears began to soak his coat.

"Don't touch me!" He yelled.

Akane quickly grabbed Mikan and pulled her away from Byakuya.

"You alright?" She asked, concerned.

"She'll be fine, Akane." Byakuya said. "I'm done here. It's time for me to leave. Goodbye."

Byakuya turned his back and began walking towards the bridge with not a word more.

"You alright there?" Akane asked in concern.

After a couple more sobs Mikan eventually calmed down.

"Y-Yeah…" Mikan said, smiling shyly as she looked up at Akane. "Thank you…"

"Ah, it's no problem!" Akane said with a wide grin.

Akane let go of Mikan and I walked up to them.

"What's his deal?" I said, crossing my arms.

"Oh, Byakuya?" Akane asked. "He's really lookin' out for everyone down in his heart. He's kinda skeptical if we even can get out."

"If we e-even can get out? Why?" Mikan asked, a tad fearful at Akane's last statement.

"Look at those security cameras." The gymnast said, pointing to the cameras.

I took a look around and sure enough there were two security cameras. One mounted to the right of us and the other mounted to the left of us.

"They're probably just watching to see if we all meet each other like the bunny said." I said, cocking my head slightly to the right.

"Maybe, but Byakuya thinks something's up."

Akane turned towards Mikan.

"Sorry 'bout earlier, Mikan was it? Anyways, don't worry about Byakuya too much, like I said he's a good guy." Akane said, the positivity clear in her voice. "I'm hoping we get along when we get out of here."

Akane extended her hand for a handshake and Mikan gripped it.

"Ah, thank you Akane I h-hope we can!" Mikan said, shaking the hand furiously.

"Uh, a bit too loud and you're grippin' my hand kinda tight and shaking it a bit hard too…"

"Oh! I'm sorry please forgive me!" Mikan pleaded.

"It's fine." Akane responded. "I'm gonna go look around some too. I'll catch both of ya' later."

Akane waved at us as she began to walk towards the bridge.

"S-She's really beautiful…" Mikan said, her cheeks turning a bright crimson.

"Huh, do you have a crush?" I asked non-chalantly.

"N-No! It's nothing like that!" Mikan said, clearly embarrassed. "It's just her body i-is really nice and well-toned…"

"Hmm. You're right, her body is really nice in that regard then." I replied. "Should we leave as well. It seems we've seen all to see."

Mikan nodded and we left the area soon afterwards.

I contemplated all that had happened. Whether Byakuya was right about the security cameras or not. This was all too bizarre. Even though, I wanted to believe that there was truly a way out, the evidence was stacked against me and it gradually became harder and harder.


	6. Chapter 6 - Grey

I let out a long sigh as we finished crossing the bridge. I was gradually growing more and more fatigue and honestly, I just wanted to go to my bed back home and rest.

"Where to now?" I asked, looking over to Mikan.

She placed her index finger on her chin.

"Hmmm… I suppose we could g-go…that way…we m-missed a whole path." Mikan said, pointing to the path to the right of her.

"A whole path?" I asked. "Why didn't you tell me before we crossed the bridge?"

"I-I don't know…" Mikan responded. "Y-You seemed set o-on crossing the bridge…"

"Don't worry Mikan. I'm not angry or anything." I said as I gave a gentle smile. "Let's go though, we should collect all of these 'Hope Shards' as soon as possible."

Mikan nodded and we began walking. We both noticed a lot of cottages along the way. They had little pixel art of some of the students on them, even us. It was pretty cute.

"Why do you think these are here?" I asked, looking over to Mikan.

"I…I…don't know…" Mikan responded, looking a bit fearful.

"You alright?" I asked in concern.

Mikan shook her head and slapped her cheeks with both hands.

"Y-Yeah! I'm fine…"

"I'm sure we'll get out of here. There's no need to worry." I said giving a gentle smile.

Mikan nodded and we kept walking.

In all honesty, I wasn't sure if I believed what I had said. It gradually seemed more and more hopeless. I still had to stay positive, even if not for myself. Mikan's instability greatly concerned me and I fearful of what her reaction would be if we were unable to leave. I bumped into someone accidentally, causing me to fall on the floor. It was a bit embarrassing, but I guess that's what I get for being lost in thought.

"Oh, are you alright?" The voice asked.

I looked up and there was a girl. She was also around my age and she was quite tall as well. She had beautiful blonde hair and green eyes.

"I'm sorry." I said, rubbing my head gently.

"It is quite alright." The girl responded.

I got up from the ground and dusted myself off.

"What is your name?" The girl asked me as I did.

"Oh, my name's Chiaki Nanami. I'm the Ultimate Gamer and I'm a fan of all genres."

I looked over to Mikan. She was biting her nails and a rapid pace.

"You alright Mikan…?" I asked, slowly becoming more and more concerned.

"No…it can't be…" Mikan said in shook. "P-Princess Sonia…!"

Mikan eyes widened as she observed the girl's beauty. She was clearly fascinated with her.

"Yes, it is I, Sonia Nevermind." The girl said happily. "It is a pleasure to meet you Miss… My apologies, I do not know your name."

"M-Mikan Tsumiki! I-I'm the Ultimate Nurse!" She said, gripping Sonia's right hand tightly. "It's truly an honor!"

Sonia held hers back as well as shook it.

"Likewise. It was nice to meet you Mikan as well as you Chiaki!"

"Hey, Mikan said you were a princess? What did she mean by that?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, I am a princess of the kingdom of Novoselic. It is a small monarchy of Europe." Sonia said in a friendly tone. "Have you heard of it?"

My eyes widened at Sonia's words. She was a real princess? That was unbelievable.

"Woah… Should I bend a knee or something…?" I asked in amazement.

Sonia looked slightly upset at my question.

"That…is unnecessary…" She responded in a sadder tone.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry I upset you…" I said apologetically.

"It's quite alright… I am not bothered by it…"

I nodded in response.

"It was nice to meet you Princess Sonia, but I think it's time we should go." I said.

"Ah, alright. It was nice to meet you Chiaki." Sonia said cheerfully. "It was nice to meet you as well Mikan. I believe it is time you stop playing with my hair and join Chiaki."

Sonia was right. Mikan was behind her playing with her hair. Was she really there the whole time? It's like when I looked at Sonia, I couldn't notice anything else.

"Oh! I'm sorry M-Miss Sonia! I r-really really am!" Mikan said in a loud apologetic tone.

Mikan quickly stopped playing with Sonia's hair and returned to my side.

"It's quite alright, it really is." Sonia said politely.

"Alright, we'll be seeing you Miss Sonia." I said in a friendly tone.

"G-Goodbye Miss Sonia!" Mikan said loudly, maybe a bit too loudly.

"Goodbye Mikan. Goodbye Chiaki." Sonia said cheerfully.

With that, we went our separate ways and Mikan and I kept walking, hoping to find the remaining students. I couldn't help but think about Sonia. It was quite bizarre that she was a real princess. It was quite exciting to meet a real princess in all honesty.

We kept walking and we saw a short boy with blonde hair and a babyface you couldn't miss by the pool. His demeanour was hard to describe. He seemed angry. I honestly wanted to avoid him but we did have to introduce ourselves. I walked up to him and reluctantly tapped his shoulder.

"Huh? Who the hell are you? Why are you tapping my shoulder dumbass?"

My suspicions were confirmed. He was, indeed, in a crappy mood.

"What the fuck are you lookin' at?! You wanna say something bitch?!"

I sighed audibly. I was in no way intimidated by him. I just didn't appreciate the words he used to me.

"Relax, we're just here to introduce ourselves." I said, giving him a fake smile.

"What? Introduce yourselves?" He asked curiously.

"The rabbit said we all had to meet each other to get out of this place. That's why we're here." I said calmly.

"Tch… Name's Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu. Nice to fuckin' meet ya." The body said in a calmer tone. "Just so we're clear don't think we're friends and shit."

"Hmm, alright Fuyuhiko…" I said, not surprised at all by his last sentence. "My name is Chiaki Nanami and I'm the Ultimate Gamer. This here is Mikan Tsumiki. She's the Ultimate Nurse."

Mikan waved shyly at him, but Fuyuhiko honestly didn't seem to care.

Mikan then made sure to hide behind me.

"F-Fuyuhiko…is the heir to the K-Kuzuryu Clan, t-the largest crime syndicate i-in the nation…" Mikan whispered into my ear "H-He's also r-really scary…E-Especially when someone mentions h-his babyface…Y-You'll lose all your fingers…"

"W-Woah…thanks Mikan…" I whispered. "You…totally saved me…"

"Hey, bastards. If we're done here can both of you make like a tree and fuck off?"

I nodded in response.

"By the way, it's make like a tree a like and leave." I said, not thinking.

Honestly, I forgot how scary he was. Even with his vulgar language it was easy to forget when looking at his babyface.

"What?" The boy said with a creepy grin on his face.

The grin caused Mikan to shriek loudly, she clearly was extremely afraid.

"N-Nothing!" I responded, waving my hands in front of my face.

It was unbelievable to think that just a couple seconds ago I was assuring myself that I wasn't afraid of him.

"Better be." He said, his babyface returning to its normal state.

"W-We'll be going now. Look Mikan, a hotel!" I said, pointing to the hotel behind us. "We should totally check there out!"

Mikan frantically nodded in response

"R-Right! Bye Fuyuhiko!" I said with a fake smile.

I grabbed Mikan's hand and took off before he even got a chance to reply. I could taste my sweat, I was extremely frightened. This wasn't like me, but this was my first time meeting the yakuza and all I knew were stories of how scary of terrible they were. I quickly opened the door of the hotel. The sign read 'Hotel Mirai'. I let Mikan hurry in first before following her in soon afterwards.


	7. Chapter 7 - Deviance

I let out a sigh of relief as we had entered the building. We weren't exactly safe of course, but I doubt Fuyuhiko was going to chase after us. The first thing I noticed was how nice the hotel looked. For an uninhabited island the hotel was sure in good condition. Even electricity seemed like it wouldn't be an issue. There were even plenty of arcade machines! I longed to play one, I really needed a break, but I had to introduce myself to the others first. I noticed a girl in the corner by herself. She had white hair, red eyes and wore glasses.

"Hey, Mikan we should introduce ourselves." I said, looking over to her.

Mikan nodded and we walked over to the girl.

"State your business." The girl said in a serious tone.

"Um… We would like to introduce ourselves, if that's ok with you."

"Introduce yourselves…?" The girl asked curiously, cocking her head as she did. "Very well. I don't mind."

"My name's Chiaki Nanami. I'm the Ultimate Gamer." I said giving a gentle smile. "This is my friend Mikan Tsumiki, the Ultimate Nurse."

Mikan shyly waved at the girl, slowly moving behind me as she did.

"My name is Peko Pekoyama." The girl said, still retaining her serious tone. "It is nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Peko." I said, extending my hand for a handshake.

Peko gripped my hand firmly and shook it. In fact, she had a ridiculously strong grip. Mikan tapped my shoulder lightly. I turned my head to the left a bit to look at her.

"T-This girl's talent is the Ultimate Swordswoman. I read s-she's a kendo master and even m-most adult men don't stand a chance against her…"

"That's pretty impressive actually. Is this true Peko?" I said with gentle smile.

"Yes, what your friend has said is correct." Peko said.

I hadn't notice it before, but she really did have that intense look in her eyes.

"The rabbit said that if we collect all the 'Hope Shards' we would be able to leave this place correct?" Peko asked.

"She did." I responded. "It all seems so strange though. The bunny just told us it was by meeting the other students."

"I believe that to be unlikely." Peko said bluntly. "There has to be something else. Something else it hasn't told us."

Mikan started squealing behind me. She clearly wasn't enjoying the conversation Peko and I were having. She hugged me tightly from behind and buried her head in my shoulder.

"Is your friend, Mikan was it, alright?" Peko asked, raising an eyebrow at her action.

"She's fine." I replied. "Maybe we could stop talking about it though?"

Peko nodded.

"Very well, if that is what you wish, Chiaki."

Mikan loosened her grip on me soon after.

"O-Oh! I'm sorry f-for making you w-worry Peko…" Mikan said in an apologetic tone.

"It's fine." Peko replied bluntly.

Suddenly we heard a loud crash from upstairs. It caused Mikan to jump and accidentally fall on the floor in surprise. Peko extended a hand to help Mikan up and Mikan gripped it and allowed herself to be pulled back to her feet by the Ultimate Swordswoman.

"W-What was that…?" Mikan asked, still clearly surprised.

"No clue." I responded. "Any ideas Peko?"

"Maybe it was the girl that came in here a few minutes earlier." Peko said.

"Well, we should check it out, I think."

Peko and Mikan nodded and we quickly hurried upstairs.

We saw an extremely short boy pushed on the floor. There was a girl with bright red hair standing over him. She wore an expression which screamed disgust on her face.

"Damn pervert!" The girl said angrily.

"B-But I didn't d-do anything…" The boy said, shuddering.

"Yes, you did! L-Look at what you served me!"

"T-The dish is innocent!" The boy said in a fearful voice.

"N-No it isn't!" The girl said, crossing her arms. "It's a banana split. The banana is completely upright in the ice cream, which is vanilla by the way! You even served it to me in a pink cup! What's more you winked at me when you gave it to me!"

I figured it was best the stay out of it. This looked like it could be deadly. Peko walked up to the and helped him up.

"Teruteru, what did I say. I thought I told you I wouldn't like to kill anyone while I'm here." Peko said bluntly.

The boy's face went grave. He didn't even speak, he just stared at Peko.

"Peko, don't you think that's a little…extreme…" The girl said, turning her attention towards the swordswoman.

"Not at all." Peko replied.

Peko's statement was frightening to say the least. I wondered what would make her like that. Rough childhood I supposed. Part of me hoped she was joking. It was just wrong to kill someone, no matter the circumstances.

I walked over to the red-haired girl. She still seemed pretty angry after what happened, but she seemed approachable.

"Hey, are you alright?" I asked.

The girl nodded.

"Yeah… just fine." She replied. "You just have to watch out for perverts like him sometimes."

"Yeah, I agree." I said, giving her a gentle smile. "What's your name?"

"Oh, it's Mahiru Koizumi, the Ultimate Photographer." She said happily. "What's yours?"

"Chiaki Nanami. I'm the Ultimate Gamer." I replied. "It's nice to meet you, Mahiru."

"Likewise." Mahiru replied, smiling happily. "Us girls gotta watch out for each other, you know."

"Oh, for sure. My friend over there in the corner is Mikan Tsumiki. She's the Ultimate Nurse."

Mahiru shyly waved to Mikan. It took a couple seconds for the shy nurse to notice before awkwardly waving back.

"Hey Mahiru, who's that?" I asked, pointing to the boy.

"Oh, him?" She started. "His name is Teruteru Hanamura. He's the Ultimate Cook."

"Please. Call me Chef." Teruteru said, seemingly normal, before letting out a loud squeal as his gaze met Peko's once again.

"Hey, Peko. I think you've scared him enough. You should leave him alone now." I said.

"Hmm… Very well." The swordswoman replied.

She walked back over to Mikan, who was still a bit astonished due the whole situation.

Teruteru quickly returned to normal and walked over to me and Mahiru.

"Oh, hello there Miss." Teruteru said, in a smooth voice. "What's your name?"

"Chiaki Nanami." I replied bluntly.

Teruteru quickly turned to face Mikan.

"What about you Miss?"

"M-My name is Mikan Tsumiki! I-I hope we can get along!"

"Likewise, Miss Tsumiki." Teruteru said. "You're very beautiful."

Mikan's eyes widened.

"M-Me? Beautiful?"

Mikan's cheeks turned a deep shade of crimson at his compliment. She couldn't help but smile subtly.

"Yes, extremely beautiful." He said in a seductive voice.

"No, stop." I said, pouting angrily as I did.

"H-Huh?" Teruteru said wearily.

"You know Tereteru, you've got some balls." Mahiru said with an annoyed expression on her face. "Even though Peko warned you, you're trying to seduce Mikan with Peko right next to you."

Teruteru quickly turned his head slightly. He was greeted by Peko's death stare. The stare was so frightening in fact, it seemed as if it could kill.

"Eeeek!" Teruteru shrieked as he feel onto the floor.

He quickly scooted away from Mikan and Peko and into a corner of the kitchen.

"P-Please don't kill me!" Teruteru begged.

Peko quickly reached for the sword on her back. Mikan placed her hand on her shoulder and shook her head.

"It's alright Peko…there's no need to harm anyone…" Mikan said somewhat timidly.

Peko nodded and placed her hand to its original position.

"If that is what you wish." Peko said in a softer, more gentle tone. "My apologies."

Mikan nodded and Peko took one step down the stairs before turning around.

"Please, Teruteru. Try not to do it again." She said in a serious tone. "As I've said before, we should get along and I wish for no need to harm anyone."

Teruteru nodded frantically and Peko made her way down the stairs.

"Geez…" Mahiru said softly.

"That really was something, huh Mahiru?"

"Yeah, it really was…" She replied. "I think… I'm going to look around more… It was nice to meet you all…"

I nodded and Mahiru began to walk downstairs.

I let out a loud yawn. I was becoming more and more tired.

"Hey, Mikan." I said, the fatigue becoming clearer in my voice. "We're done here, I think."

"Y-Yeah…" She replied.

I walked over to Mikan.

"Alright, Teruteru, behave." I said, letting out another yawn soon after.

"Y-Yeah…" Teruteru said somewhat fearfully. "S-See ya…"

I nodded and we both walked back to the bottom floor of the hotel.


	8. Chapter 8 - Drained

We soon reached the bottom floor a couple seconds later. I noticed Mahiru was talking to Peko by the doorway. Mahiru soon noticed us and signalled us to come over and so, we did.

"Hey, Mikan, Chiaki, I'm going to go to the supermarket." Mahiru said happily. "It's a little ways over, want to come with me?"

"Hmm." I said, placing a finger to my chin. "I suppose I should, but honestly I'm a bit tired right now Mahiru. I think I'm gonna stay here a for a little while."

Even though I had to meet all the students, I was too tired to keep going. I was just going to rest here for a while before continuing.

"That's alright." Mahiru replied. "Hmm? What about you Mikan?"

"H-Huh?! You want m-me to come with you?!" Mikan said, the excitement clear in her voice.

"Yeah, of course." Mahiru said. "We're friends now."

Mikan's face lit up. I wondered if she hadn't done anything like this before. The way she was acting it seemed like it was new to her.

"C-Chiaki i-is it really alright if I go…?" Mikan asked, turning her head to look at me.

I nodded and gave her a lazy smile.

"O-Ok…I-I'm coming with y-you Mahiru…" Mikan said somewhat unconfidently, yet the excitement still clear in her voice.

"Alright, let's go." Mahiru said with a smile.

Mahiru opened the door and left. Mikan happily waved at me, a broad grin on her face as she did before leaving the building as well.

"You're not going with them Peko?" I asked, cocking my head slightly.

Peko shook her head.

"No, I wish to remain here." Peko replied.

I nodded and Peko walked back over to her corner.

I then made a beeline to the arcade machine. Even though I was tired, I did want to play a game or two. I looked for a slot for a coin or something, but there was nothing. I didn't take any money today anyways, so I was lucky. I pressed the one button and the machine turned on. My eyes lit up as I saw which game it was. It was Galaga! Galaga was my favourite game. Galaga is a shoot 'em up developed by Namco Japan and Midway in America that was released in 1981. In my opinion it was the best in its genre.

I had to hold back a squeal of happiness as I started the game. I happily played it for a couple minutes before I heard the door open. I looked over to see who it was. It was Sonia.

"Hi Miss Sonia" I said, turning my attention back to the game soon afterwards.

"Ah, greetings Chiaki." Sonia stated turning towards me.

She soon noticed Peko and walked over to her.

"Oh, hello." The princess acknowledged "What is your name?"

"I am Peko Pekoyama." Peko said. "I am the Ultimate Swordswoman."

"Ah, it is a pleasure to meet you Peko. My name is Sonia Nevermind and I am the Ultimate Princess." Sonia greeted.

The two talked for about two minutes or so before Sonia went upstairs. I yawned as I continued to keep playing. Time just seemed to fly the higher my score went. In fact, I had been playing for twenty minutes. I noticed Peko was still in her corner. I wondered how she didn't get bored.

Soon the door opened once again. This time it was two boys. One I didn't recognize, but I swore I saw the other one before. The first one was quite tall. He wore a green hoodie and had white hair. The other one seemed quite muscular, but otherwise he looked pretty normal. He had spiky brown hair and had green eyes.

I looked over to them before continuing to play my game. The level I was on was really tricky so it required all my focus. I hadn't even notice them walk over to me.

"Hajime, you haven't properly introduced yourself to her either, right?" One of the boys said.

"Y-Yeah… you're right…" The other admitted. "Um, excuse me? I'd like to introduce myself."

I did hear him however I was nearing the end of the level. I decided it was probably best to wait a couple seconds before introducing myself. After all, it was only a few seconds.

"Hey, Chiaki!" The first boy yelled.

I let out a sigh of relief as I had finished the level and looked over to the two boys.

"Oh, sorry… I must've been… a little too focused on my game…"

"A little…? Are you sure about that?"

I pouted at his remark Admittedly he was right though. Maybe I was a bit too focused.

"Let's see…Oh, right, introductions. Got it." I said.

I let out a yawn before speaking again.

"I'm Chiaki Nanami, the Ultimate Gamer. Video games are my hobby and I'm a fan of all genres."

Maybe my introduction was a bit too dragged out. I probably should have just said 'I'm Chiaki Nanami, the Ultimate Gamer.' or something of the sort. There was a moment of silence as I was sure I was missing something in that introduction, then it hit me.

"Nice to meet you." I said giving a gentle smile, before looking back at my game.

"I'm Hajime Hinata. It's nice to meet you, too…"

My eyes drooped slightly. It took me a couple seconds to respond once again.

"Yeah…totally…"

"It seems this conversation is going rather slow…" Hajime stated."

"Well, she is gaming right now…" The other boy said.

It wasn't gaming. It's more like, I was sleepily pushing the buttons and still happened to be playing well somehow.

"It's more like… I'm the kind of person that has to gather my thoughts before speaking…" I admitted. "Like, I can't talk that well unless I have already prepared what I want to say in my head."

That was true however I'd usually gather them much more quickly if I was completely awake. Right now I was half asleep and concentrating on my game.

"Especially when I meet new people… Well, if I get used to them, I can talk a little faster..."

I then let out another loud yawn, much longer than the first, drooling a bit as I did.

"I'm sleepy…" I said.

It has just hit me that I hadn't gotten the other boy's name.

"Hey…guy in the hoodie…" I said sleepily, still not turning my attention away from the arcade machine in front of me. "What's… your name?"

"Me?" The boy responded. "I'm Nagito Komaeda, my talent is the Ultimate Lucky Student."

I lazily nodded my head. I didn't think much of how he knew my name. Mikan knew it too so it was likely the two used the same means to figure it out.

"Well…it was nice to meet both of you…" I said tiredly.

"Yeah." Hajime said. "We'll see you around Chiaki…"

I nodded and they both went upstairs.

I played for a minute more or so before dozing off onto the console.

After what I assume to be around an hour or so, I felt a slight poke on my back. I slowly opened my eyes before feeling the poke again.

"H-Huh…?" I said, rubbing my eyes with the sleeve of my hoodie.

I soon felt the poke again.

"Chiaki?" A voice asked.

I had recognized the voice, it was Mahiru's.

I slowly stood up and wiped the drool from my chin. There right before me was Mahiru and Mikan. They were holding a couple plastic bags, likely groceries.

"Hi…guys…" I said sleepily.

"C-Chiaki… Are you ok…?" Mikan asked.

"Y-Yeah… I'm fine Mikan… just a little tired…"

Mikan was still clearly concerned. The nurse quickly placed a hand on my forehead and checked my temperature.

"S-She does have a fever or anything…" Mikan said to herself.

"I'm sure she's fine like she says…" Mahiru affirmed. "Y-You're overreacting a little bit Mikan…"

"O-Overreacting?! P-Please forgive me, I'm sorry!" Mikan pleaded.

"It's fine…really…" I said giving her a gentle smile.

Mikan took a soda can out of the bag and handed it to me.

"Thanks…" I said as I opened it and took a sip.

Something about the soda made me feel energized again. I looked at the front of it and sure enough it was an energy drink. It was one of my favourite brands.

"Chiaki, everyone on the island is going to meet up to say what we found." Mahiru stated. "Peko and the others have already left. Do want to come with us?"

"Yeah." I replied.

I finished drinking the energy drink and tossed into the trash can.

"You ready to go?" I asked.

Mahiru and Mikan both simultaneously nodded and we all left hotel.


	9. Chapter 9 - Jabberwock Island

We began walking to the beach. There wasn't really much conversation along the journey. It was mostly Mahiru who spoke. It was a bit awkward though, since Mikan and I weren't really conversationalists, but she was nice.

After a little while we arrived at the beach. It was, in fact, the same beach where I woke up.

"You guys are the last to arrive. What are you dilly-dallying for?" Byakuya asked angrily.

"Geez, Chiaki went to sleep. We had to try to get her to wake up." Mahiru responded slightly bitterly.

"Let's not mind that for now." Nagito said calmly. "Let's talk about what we found here."

"Kyahaha! Let's talk!" Hiyoko exclaimed happily.

"Right, now then." Byakuya started. "Let me hear your initial impressions of this island."

"Well, there's a lot of bridges that are blocked off on the central island." Akane said. "Byakuya and I were only able to find one we could use."

"Oh, those are so that everyone doesn't get lost!" Ibuki stated cheerfully. "Ibuki tried to cross one and the rabbit said so!"

"You really trustin' the bunny, Ibuki?" Kazuichi asked, slightly worried.

"Yeah! Ibuki thinks Usami is totally trustworthy!" She paused. "Maybe…"

Kazuichi slapped his face and sighed.

"Is this island really so large?" Sonia asked, cocking her head as she did.

"If you look at it in depth, it's just a normal island. It's even got a resort." Hajime replied.

"Oh, there's a biiiig ranch!" Hiyoko stated.

"There's also a supermarket. It seems to stock everything." Mahiru said. "Right Mikan?"

"R-Right! It stocks everything from food to living amenities." Mikan responded.

"The hotel was also quite impressive." Peko stated.

"The restaurant inside the hotel was also very nice. It seemed to cater to a more plebeian taste." Sonia stated.

"Can you guys listen to what I wanna say too?" Teruteru asked.

"Sure, go ahead." Byakuya replied.

"Girls! Very, very cute girls! Aha! All over the place!" Teruteru said excitedly with a nosebleed and a creepy smile on his face.

Peko turned her head towards Teruteru. She gave him a death stare which appeared even more terrifying than the last.

"Teruteru…" Peko cautioned, her menacing expression still on her face.

"Eeek!" The chef exclaimed.

"Gross! Teruteru totally gave me goosebumps!" Ibuki proclaimed.

"All of you are fools." Byakuya said bluntly. "I can't believe nobody has mentioned the most serious truth."

"The most serious truth?" I asked curiously.

"If no one here has realized it, you're all bigger fools than I thought."

"What did you say, you fat bastard?! Don't be talkin' all big and shit!" Fuyuhiko yelled angrily.

"Small dogs shouldn't bark so loud." Byakuya said plainly.

His statement caused me to chuckle internally, even if I didn't appreciate how rude he was. I couldn't get my mind off what he said. The most serious truth? What did he mean by that?

"Hey, Byakuya." I started. "What's 'the most serious truth'?"

It took a couple seconds for him to respond. He turned to face everyone.

"I trust you've all gone to the park across the bridge?" Byakuya asked.

"That park with the weird bronze statue, right?" I asked.

"When I saw it, I remembered a story I'd heard before." He stated. "There's an island in the Pacific Ocean, a beautiful island paradise where summer never ends…"

"Oh, I've heard it too." Nagito said. "It consists of one central island surrounded by five other islands, right?"

"Correct." Byakuya replied. "It's also said that five holy animals symbolize each of those surrounding islands. That island's name is Jabberwock Island."

"Could this island be…?" Nagito paused. "Jabberwock Island…"

"Is that… the name of this island?" Hajime asked curiously.

"Still, there's something on my mind." Byakuya stated. "In fact, according to what I've heard, Jabberwock Island is already…"

"Already what?" Akane asked curiously.

"Never mind." Byakuya responded.

"Hold it right there!" Nekomaru demanded. "That's a rather incomplete story you've told us."

"No need to shout. I'll let you know when I obtain more information." Byakuya responded.

"Meh, I don't care what this island's called." Akane stated somewhat tiredly. "Nikoniko Island or the Emerald Isles or whatever. Ain't we supposed to be going home soon?"

Akane was right. We were supposed to be leaving soon. We'd all met each other like Usami said.

"We should be." Kazuichi replied. "I dunno how though, planes are a no go and I ain't seen any ships or boats either."

"Hey, where's Usami?" I asked.

Suddenly in a burst of light, Usami appeared. It was so sudden in fact it caused Mikan to fall over and end in yet another compromising position. Mahiru quickly helped pull her to her feet, trying to make sure than no one saw anything.

"Aaaah!" Ibuki screamed.

"Love, love!" Usami exclaimed.

"W-Woah! It's the rabbit!" Kazuichi yelled, clearly afraid.

"Is it time we return home?" Peko asked calmly.

"Well, that's what I said at first." Usami started. "However, I've decided it'd be a better experience to enjoy the island's resort as a school trip."

"S-School trip?" Mikan asked.

"Yes, like a field trip!" Usami responded.

"Hold it!" Ibuki exclaimed. "Even if this is a school trip, you totally skipped everything that comes first!"

"Everything that comes first?" Usami asked curiously.

"We're supposed to be attending Hope's Peak Academy." Gundam stated. "We should spend some time attending there first before we go on a school trip, correct?"

"Ah, Hope's Peak Academy." Usami paused. "I see… I see… You don't say…"

"Stop fuckin' with us, rabbit!" Fuyuhiko yelled.

"There's no need to yell." Usami affirmed. "If you all are feeling unsure about Hope's Peak Academy… Then in that case… Please forget about Hope's Peak Academy! That's why we're having a school trip in the first place!"

Forget about Hope's Peak Academy? That didn't sit right. It wasn't right. It couldn't be right! That's why I came here. I came to attend Hope's Peak Academy. Now I was told to forget about it?! It was extremely hard to control my anger.

"The hell do you mean we should forget about it?!" Fuyuhiko asked angrily.

"Hey… just what are you scheming?" Byakuya asked, clearly upset with the situation.

"W-Wha! I'm not scheming anything! I'm doing this for everybody's sake!" Usami replied. "I'm praying from the bottom of my heart that hope will grow within everyone's heart!"

"N-No…" Peko started. "You've lied one to many times, rabbit… There has to be some danger here on this island…There has to be…"

"Nope, there's nothing dangerous on this island whatsoever!" Usami responded. "So please, there's no need to worry!"

"P-Perhaps you brought us on an uninhabited island m-make us kill each other!" Nagito exclaimed, clearly in a state of pure turmoil.

"K-Kill each other?!" Mikan asked fearfully. "No, I-I don't want to believe it! I don't want to believe it at all!"

"Ha-wa-wa?! Kill each other?!" Usami exclaimed in confusion. "Nuh-uh, no way! Bloody business, like causing violence or inflicting pain is a big no-no on this island! Even the word 'kill' saying it just horrifies me…"

"Then… what is this 'school trip' you mentioned?" Byakuya asked. "What do you intend for us to do on this island?"

"Alrighty! I shall announce it to everyone right now!" The bunny exclaimed happily, waving her hand in the air as she did. "While you all are on this island paradise, you must get along and strengthen your bonds with one another! That is the main rule of this heart-throbbing school trip."

"H-Heart-throbbing school trip…?" Mahiru asked, a bit fearful herself.

"Spend all these peaceful and relaxing days nourishing hope and lazing about, free from pain, free from suffering." Usami responded. "Truly, this lovey-dovey school trip is…" Usami paused. "Everyone's homework!"

"Wha?!" Hajime exclaimed. "What the hell does that even mean?!"

"Now then, let the heart-throbbing begin!"

As quickly as Usami had said that she vanished.

I caught a glimpse of everyone's face. Everyone wore the same expression. It wasn't one filled with hope, instead it was one of utter despair.

"No…" Mahiru said softly, her eyes empty.

"It can't be…" Nekomaru said, wearing the same expression as Mahiru.

"Are we to be captives on this island?" Sonia asked fearfully.

"T-This must be some kind of punishment from the gods!" Gundam exclaimed.

"Waaaah! I just wanna go home and eat candy!" Hiyoko cried.

I couldn't bare seeing everyone like this. I had to do something.

"Everyone!" I yelled. "We…we shouldn't give up here. There has to be some way. We can't be some way out. There's definitely some way!"

"Yeah… Chiaki's right…" Mahiru said, sounding slightly unsure of herself.

"R-Right…we just need to do as Usami instructed, right…?" Sonia asked.

"I suppose it's all we can do…" I responded. "We have to stay positive right? That's all we can do."

"Y-Yeah.." Kazuichi said. "We've got a whole island to ourselves right…? That's something to try to stay positive about. It's even got a cool hotel and everything!"

Everyone but Byakuya nodded in agreement. Even if I didn't believe my own words somewhat at least I was able to fill everyone with some kind of hope.

Usami quickly reappeared again. Luckily, this time Mikan didn't fall again, but she did let out a frightened 'Eep'.

"I almost forgot, I have a present for you all! I prepared these for everyone!" Usami said happily.

Usami held out a strap with a mini Usami on it.

"Oooh, what's this?" Ibuki asked in curiousity.

"Pfft, teehee, it's an Usami strap." Usami said, giggling to herself. "If you squeeze its tummy, it talks."

Usami demonstrated it my gently squeezing the tummy of the Usami on the strap.

"I'm Usami… Magical Girl Usami. I'm an itty-bitty girl who's sweet like milk!" The strap said.

"Isn't it cute?" Usami asked happily.

"What a waste of time." Byakuya said bluntly.

"I got my hopes up too…" Ibuki said disappointedly.

"I'm ashamed I even had my hopes up!" Teruteru said, just as disappointed as Ibuki.

"Really, I think it's cute, especially how the ears look like a rabbit's." I said.

"Well, Usami does mean 'rabbit' you know!" Usami remarked.

Regardless, a large amount of Usami straps appeared on the beach and as I figured, after everybody received one just tossed them.

"Hey, you can't taint nature with trash!" Usami said angrily.

"See? Even you think they're trash…" Kazuichi stated.

Usami sadly picked up the straps and looked at us with a lonely expression on her face

"Ugh…I even prepared one more present for you all too, but now I don't wanna give them to you bad kids." Usami stated sadly.

"Hey, Usami." I started. "May I have one of those Usami straps please?"

"Chiaki, don't seriously tell me you're going to take one!" Ibuki exclaimed.

Usami walked over to me and handed me one of the straps. I took it and gently pressed down on its stomach.

"Love, love!" The strap exclaimed.

"It's very cute. Thank you Usami." I said, giving a gentle smile before placing the strap in my backpack.

"It's nice to know we have at least one good kid." Usami said happily. "Thanks to Chiaki, I'll tell you what the next present is."

"Alright, tell us." Hajime said.

"Well, it's not that big compared to the Usami straps, but I've prepared a motive for everyone." Usami said.

"A motive?" Gundam asked. "How curious. Tell us Usami, what is this motive?"

"A motive to get along." Usami stated. "We're all here on this island together so I'd figured we'd do something island themed."

"Oh, what are ya thinking?" Akane asked cheerfully. "We gonna throw a big party or somethin'?"

Byakuya sighed audibly.

"Huh, somethin' wrong Byakuya?" Akane asked.

"Please, try not to be so passive, Akane." Byakuya said.

"Anyways, you are correct, Akane!" Usami exclaimed happily.

"Is it a festival or maybe a miniature shrine? How wonderful!" Sonia cheered.

"Oh, oh! If we're talking about fun parties on a tropical island maybe we should do a barbeque or something!" Ibuki yelled cheerfully.

"Oh, and a campfire sounds fun too!" Mahiru stated.

"Let's find a hoop snake and kill it!" Hiyoko said, waving her hands happily in the air.

"Is finding one really not enough for you…?" Teruteru asked slightly concerned. Speaking of which, I'd like to cook some Caribbean food and add my own flavour to it."

"It seems like everyone has different ideas, but if we're gonna be at the ocean, then first." Usami paused and picked up something from behind her. "Tadaaa! This is what it's all about!"

"A-A swimming bag?" Mikan asked curiously.

"Correct! Love! Love!" Usami replied.

"Wait, are you telling us to go swimming in a situation like this?" Hajime asked.

"It's not like I'm ordering in you guys to swim! It's just if you want to swim you can…" Usami stated.

"T-There's no way I'm going swimming!" Hajime exclaimed. "No way someone would go swimming in a situation like this!"

I agreed with him. It just didn't seem right to swim, even if I was trying to stay positive. Maybe, I didn't believe my own words, but I had to try, even if not for myself.

"Yahoooooooo!" Ibuki exclaimed happily.

"Aw, yeah! That's what I'm talking about! With weather this nice, there's no way I'm gonna pass up swimming!" Kazuichi said happily.

"I agree." Teruteru started. "Even my loins agree."

"Eww! That's gross!" Hiyoko said, her voice full of disgust. "You're a nasty, worthless pervert!"

"Hiyoko, let's calm down…" Nagito said softly.

"Hey Peko, swimming sounds like fun, right?" Mahiru asked happily. "Let's go swim!"

"M-Me…?" Peko responded. "I… I don't mind swimming…"

"Alllllll righttttttt! Let's go change!" Nekomaru encouraged.

Nekomaru left and everyone but me, Hajime, Hiyoko, Mikan and Byakuya. I walked over to Mikan.

"Hey Mikan, aren't you going to swim?" I asked curiously.

"H-Huh?" Mikan replied. "Me? Swimming?"

"Yeah. I figured you'd want to swim."

"Yeah, I… kind of do…" Mikan responded.

"Then go swim." I urged. "It's fine, I promise."

"Are you going to swim, Chiaki…?" Mikan asked.

"No, it's a bit embarrassing, but I've never learnt to swim…"

"O-Oh, I can teach you if you'd like!"

"Maybe later, Mikan." I replied. "I just want to think about something for now."

"O-Oh, alright…" Mikan said a little saddened.

With that, the shy nurse left to go change. I took out the Usami strap from my backpack and slightly pressed my thumb against its stomach.

"Everyone, do your very best! Don't lose to yourself! And don't forget to save frequently!" The mini Usami said.

I sighed audibly. I wasn't sure if I believed what Usami had said. I was beginning to have my doubts myself, but I had to stay positive. There's a way out of here somehow. I know there is. Even if it wasn't what Usami said, someone would rescue us for sure. I sat on the sand, trying to fill my head full of positivity. We'd definitely get out of here! Definitely!


	10. Chapter 10 - Clouded

Hajime walked over to me.

"Hey Chiaki, you're not swimming?" The brown-haired boy asked.

I shook my head and placed the strap back into my backpack.

"I can't swim." I said, rubbing my hand against my eye.

"Tired?" He asked.

"A little bit, yeah." I replied. "It's been a long day."

"I still don't understand why everyone's going swimming." He remarked with a slight chuckle.

"Everyone's just trying to enjoy themselves." I said with a gentle smile. "We… We don't know how long we're going to be here. So, we should enjoy ourselves, right? That's what I believe."

Hajime nodded in approval.

"You're right." He replied. "Sorry for being such a downer."

"It's no problem." I said warmly. "Hey Hajime, you never told me your talent."

"My talent? Well… I can't remember my talent." He said with a shy chuckle that clearly masked his melancholy of not being able to remember his talent.

"You can't remember?" I asked, placing a finger to my chin. "Strange…"

"Yeah…" He replied, looking a bit upset.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll figure it out soon." I said, smiling at him.

"Thanks, Chiaki." He said, now smiling as well.

His smile seemed partially real as well as partially forced, I wondered if he was doubting himself. However, it was probably best now to press him any further. After all, I didn't want to upset him again. I figured I may as well find out what he thought about our situation.

"Hey, Hajime." I started. "How do you feel about all of this?"

"It isn't right." He replied plainly. "Something just… isn't right about all of this."

"I agree…" I said, crossing my arms as I did. "But…we need to stay positive, right…?"

"Yeah…" Hajime responded. "We need to keep a level head about this."

Suddenly, everyone came out from changing into their swimsuits. All of them, but Mikan headed straight for the water. Mikan quickly scurried over to me and Hajime.

"H-Hey, Chiaki." The shy nurse started. "How do I look…?"

I gazed at her swimsuit. From my perspective, it showed her curvy figure extremely well.

"Hmmm… It's not bad. It shows off your 'proportions' a bit too well though." I said with a chuckle afterwards.

"H-Huh?!" Mikan asked as her cheeks turned a dark shade of crimson.

It didn't help that Hajime was with us. That just made her blush brighter. Hajime was also blushing just as brightly as Mikan, trying his best not to look at said proportions.

"Come on guys, I'm kidding." I said, giggling to myself. "You look great, Mikan. Go enjoy yourself, alright?"

"A-Alright!" She replied happily, still blushing somewhat. "H-Have fun, Chiaki! A-And it was nice to see you again too, Hajime!"

We both nodded and Mikan ran towards the water, jumped in with a large splash and began swimming.

Hajime and I both sat on the sand and watched everyone.

"Yahoo!" Ibuki screamed as she made a big splash in the water. "Uah! Salty! This water's too salty! It's not going easy on me!"

"Aaah, the water is so cool. It feels so great!" Sonia said happily as she stuck her foot into the water.

"Heeey! I got some suntan lotion from the supermarket." Teruteru started. "Anyone want a rub down?"

"Oh, you're quite considerate! Now then, will you apply it right away?" Nekomaru asked cheerfully.

"Eh? Rubbing lotion on a muscular man…?" Teruteru said, thinking to himself. "Alright, no problem! My tastes are pretty open, you know!"

"You seem a little too open…" Mahiru stated in slight annoyance. "Like, you're covering too many bases by yourself…"

"Mmhmhm…" The cook giggled. "I'll make sure to cover you with lots and lots of oil."

Teruteru then walked over to the muscular boy and started slathering his abs with oil ever so slowly.

"W-What is this feeling of intense bloodlust?!" Nekomaru asked loudly.

"Hey, Fuyuhiko! Come in the water with us!" Akane yelled with a large smile on her face.

I looked over to Fuyuhiko. He looked like he was drawing something in the sand.

"What? No way, swimming blows." He responded.

"Aw, come on, don't be like that!" The tan girl said, still grinning widely.

Suddenly, Akane sprinted out of the water and picked up Fuyuhiko bridal style.

"H-Hey! No means no!" Fuyuhiko yelled angrily.

Akane quickly darted into the water and dropped Fuyuhiko in the middle of the surrounding ocean, which made a large splash.

"Y-You big tittied bastard!" The Ultimate Yakuza yelled just as loudly as before.

Then Peko quickly swam over and playfully splashed Fuyuhiko with water.

"H-Hey, stop that." He said, trying his best not to smile.

Mahiru swiftly swam over to where Peko was and did the same.

"H-Hey! I said stop!" Fuyuhiko said in a slightly more displeased tone, but still grinning none the less.

The two didn't stop however and all three of them quickly broke into laughter. I couldn't help but smile. Everyone seemed so happy. Something about that made me energetic and happy too.

"It looks like everyone's having fun." I said looking over to Hajime, still smiling sweetly.

"Yeah…" He responded, a small grin on his face as well. "This place really does feel like a resort, you know?"

I let out a happy, satisfied sigh and nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, Hiyoko ran across the sand.

"What's she doing?" I asked curiously.

"She's chasing crabs, or something." Hajime replied.

"Oh, well, I hope she doesn't kill them…" I said.

"Yeah…" Hajime responded. "But even she's enjoying herself."

I nodded in response, smiling happily as I did.

"Hehe, I'm very happy." Usami chirped.

"Huh?" Hajime asked, looking behind him to see Usami.

"Everyone seems to be getting along with each other, so I'm very happy." Usami remarked happily. "I thought this would be hard until everyone got used to this, but they're all acting like Ultimates! Let's keep up the pace and all do our best to peacefully enjoy this heart-throbbing school trip!"

Hajime looked down at the ground for a little bit. He looked quite upset.

"Hajime, you alright?" I asked in concern.

"Yeah." He replied. "Just thinking is all…"

I nodded in response.

"Yeah… I think… I'll do it." Hajime said to himself.

"Something wrong, Hajime?" I asked curiously.

"No… I think, I'll do it!" He exclaimed.

"Do what?" I asked, cocking my head as I did.

"I'm gonna go swimming!" He said loudly.

He quickly got up and ran over to Usami.

"Hey, Usami." He started. "Hand me one of those swimsuits!"

Usami happily handed him a swimming bag and Hajime began running to the others.

"Hey, you guys! Don't forget about me!" He yelled as he began unbuttoning his shirt. "Hey hey! Wait for me! Let me join in on the fun!"

Suddenly, the sky grew eerily cloudy. The sun was shining brightly just a moment ago, but now it was completely covered in dark grey as far the eye could see.

Hajime stopped in his tracks and looked at the sky, as did everyone else.

Byakuya quickly walked over to me.

"Hey, Byakuya." I started. "What's with these clouds? It was sunny just a moment ago."

He shrugged.

"I have no clue." He responded. "But, I may know who's behind it."

He turned to Usami.

"You!" He yelled. "Tell me what you did!"

"Wha…wha-wha-wha-wha…?!" Usami exclaimed fearfully.

"Answer me!" Byakuya yelled angrily.

"I didn't do anything!" Usami exclaimed. "What is all this?! There's no way something like this should be happening!"

Then, when it seemed like it couldn't get any worse, the monitor on the tree near us turned on, on its own.

"Ah, ahh…! Mic check! Mic check!" Came from the monitor. "Ah, ah! Ah, ah! Can you hear me? Can you hear me?"

The voice was so laid-back and gleeful it made my skin crawl. It was undeniably different than Usami's. It was so sinister as if there was nothing but antipathy was behind it.

"Puhuhuhu… Surprised?" The voice asked. "You were totally surprised! Right?! Now then, sorry to keep you all waiting for so long. Let's leave all this worthless entertainment behind… It's time for the main attraction! You guys better hustle over to Jabberwock Park!"

"Could it be? That voice…!" Usami said to herself fearfully. "I-If this is… Oh, this is very bad. I gotta do something…"

"Huh… Usami…?" I asked in concern.

"It's all up to me!" The rabbit exclaimed, seemingly not appearing to hear my last comment.

Usami began dashing off in the direction of the bridge.

"It seems that was an unusual occurrence…" Byukuya said looking over to me.

"Yeah…" I responded. "Should we go too…?"

"Naturally." Byukuya stated.

"Hey, what about everyone who's swimming?!" Hajime asked.

"There's no time to wait for them to change." Byakuya responded. "I have a bad feeling about this… I'll head over first."

Byukuya then left in the same direction as Usami.

"Boo… There are too many Mr. Crabs… I guess I'll just step on them later!" Hiyoko said with a large, unsettling grin before quickly following in the direction as Byakuya.

"Hajime… Jabberwock Park, right…?" I asked, a bit fearful myself.

"Yeah…" He responded. "Let's go…"

I quickly put my backpack on and Hajime and I began running towards the bridge. What had happened was extremely unsettling. I honestly felt bad leaving Mikan and the others behind, but I understood why there was no time to wait for them. Someone could get hurt if we didn't go there in time after all. This was all too strange. I just wanted this to be over soon.


	11. Chapter 11 - Black and White

Hajime and I dashed over to Jabberwock Park, not stopping for a second. When we arrived Usami's voice could be heard ringing throughout the park.

"W-Where are you?!" The bunny asked, seeming somewhat unsure of herself, yet the anger still clear in her voice. "Where are you hiding?!"

"Hiding?" I asked curiously. "Usami, who are you talking to?"

Suddenly, the sinister voice could be heard once again. It was that same gleeful laugh.

"Puhuhuhu!" The voice giggled.

"H-Huh?" Hajime asked.

"Hey, where are you?! Show yourself!" Usami commanded.

"Ahahahahahaha!" The voice laughed.

That laugh was full of malice. It could be heard clearly in the tone.

At that second everyone who had been swimming had come running.

"H-Hey?! That laugh, what was that?!" Kazuichi asked fearfully. "What's going on?!"

Then a bear which was half black and half white appeared from behind the statue. It was around Usami's size and on its black side had a red eye in the shape of a lightning bolt. It jumped on the top of the base of the statue.

"Why, hello there!" The bear said cheerfully. "Thanks for waiting! Long time, no see guys!"

"Long time no see?" Hajime asked slightly shocked. "We've never met before. I'd definitely remember a black and white bear!"

"Yeah, Hajime's right." Ibuki affirmed. "Ibuki'd definitely remember you!"

"Guys, I think we should be wonderin' *why* a black and white bear is in front of us!" Kazuichi said.

"He's the same as Usami, right?" Akane asked. "They're animaltronics or whatever ya call 'em."

"Uh, they're called animatronics, Akane…" Mahiru said, trying her best to give a smile.

"Shut it, all of you!" The bear commanded. "I am Monokuma! I'm the headmaster of this academy."

This bear was the headmaster of the academy? This day just kept getting weirder and weirder.

Monokuma jumped off from the base and landed in front of all of us.

"Ahem, now that I've made my dashing appearance, the first thing I need to say is…" He paused. "This is so friggin' lame! Lame, I say! Lamer than the lamest lamesauce! Oh, wait. Lamesauce?! Is that tasty?"

"Just as I thought, it was you!" Usami said angrily. "But… How…? Why is Monokuma here?!"

Did Usami not know why he was here? Isn't this all planned? I swore they were one in the same. Maybe it's an act?

"Aw shaaaaadup!" Monokuma yelled. "I'm livid you know… And I'm ready to barf thanks to your lukewarm attitude! Just what's with this heart-throbbing school trip crap anyways?! I'm bored! So hopelessly bored! This just ain't fun at all, you all better knock off this farce right now! You've all just got to meet the demands of this world…"

"H-Huh? What do you mean?" Akane asked. "This just ain't making no sense at all."

"Well, nobody wants to see high school students living calm and peaceful lives, right?"

"What are you getting at?" Mahiru asked, slightly annoyed. "Surely, you couldn't make us… kill each other like Nagito said earlier…"

"Ding, ding, ding! You're correct!" Monokuma said cheerfully.

"Ok, stop… joking now…" Mahiru said, a bit afraid now. "You're kidding… right…?"

"Well, what other people really want to see is others' misery and despair…" Monokuma said, giggling to himself.

"Yo, the fuck is with this damn bear?! Everything he says doesn't make any damn sense!" Fuyuhiko said angrily.

"What… What's going on…? What is this thing…?" Byakuya asked fearfully.

"Everyone! Stay back!" Usami commanded. "Let me handle this! I don't know why Monokuma is here… But as long as I have this Magic Stick…"

"Yah! Opening!"

Suddenly Monokuma pounced on Usami and began attacking her furiously. It could only be described as an extremely cartoonish battle. Usami fell back and Monokuma smashed her stick

"Dun-dah-dah-daaah! Victory!" The black and white bear exclaimed happily.

"Nooo! My Magic Stick…" Usami said sadly.

"Now then, what to do after my flawless victory…" Monokuma said, thinking to himself. "First of all, you're too plain! White rabbits are faaaaar too plain! So, I'm gonna make you in my image!"

Monokuma then let out a devilish laugh and pounced on Usami again.

"This is what happens when you defy me… I'll crunch ya! I'll bite ya! I'll rip you apart!" Monokuma said angrily.

"R-Really?! No one's questioning this?!" Kazuichi asked.

"It's all going too fast for my brain to process!" Ibuki replied. "Ibuki's seriously confused!"

"Hey, hold still!" Monokuma yelled. "This wooden stick isn't…hah… gonna shove itself in!"

"No!" Usami yelled. "That's a big no-no! That's an extremely big no-no!"

Suddenly Usami flew back, her appearance now different. On one half of her body she was pink and the other half she was white and she had also now had the same robotic red eye Monokuma had except it had retained its original shape.

"Taa-daa! All done!" The black and white bear said proudly.

'W-Wah?" Usami started. "What is this?"

Monokuma then let out another gleeful, yet malicious cackle.

"No! I'm not supposed to look weird like this! Change me back!" Usami pleaded.

"My, my…" Monokuma started. "Defying your big brother's fashion sense. Is Monomi a little troublemaker?

"B-Big brother?!" Usami asked in confusion. "M-Monomi?!"

"Your old position was waaaay to wishy-washy." Monokuma responded. "So, I'm setting you to be my little sister, Monomi."

"W-Why do I have to be your little sister?!" Monomi asked angrily.

"Big sister? Well, do you want to be the older sister that got separated at birth?" Monokuma asked, thinking to himself. "No, that doesn't seem right. You're definitely the little sister. Soooo that's how it's gonna be, Monomi! If you disobey me I'll never forgive you!"

"H-Huh?! E-Even the display changed to Monomi?!" The rabbit exclaimed. "Hey, I won't let you make up your own settings!"

Honestly, I didn't understand what she meant by that, but I decided to roll with it.

Monokuma then threw a punch and it landed square in Monomi's cheek, sending the pink and white bunny back.

"Uuuah!" Monomi screamed in pain.

"Stupid fool! Do you really think you can win against me?!" Monokuma asked sarcastically.

"Ow! It really hurts when you punch me!"

"How about that?! Now you've really learned your lesson!" Monokuma cackled.

"Ugh… If only I had my Magic Stick… I could have beaten that awful Monokuma…" Monomi said sadly.

"Puhu!" The black and white bear giggled. "It's *your* fault for leaving yourself open, you know! Even a one second opening could be the difference between life and death!"

"Hey, what's with this stupid performance?!" Fuyuhiko asked angrily.

"Who friggin' knows…" Akane replied.

"But… it's obvious this isn't right…" I responded. "Something bad is happening…"

"Wha?! What is this?! What's going on?!" Teruteru asked fearfully.

"R-Really?!" Kazuichi started. "You're all questioning this now?!"

"Ugh…" Monomi uttered softly, a tear coming to her eye.

"Woah! Usami's all weird-looking now!" Ibuki said in surprise.

"Weird-looking?" Monokuma started. "She matches me, you know… How insensitive…"

"Hey, Ibuki said her brain was still processing!" Ibuki said in an angry tone. "I'm waaaaay to confused to think about feelings right now!"

"A-Anyways…" Peko started. "W-What is this black and white tanuki…?"

"I'm not a tanuki! I'm a bear! I'm Monokuma!" The bear responded angrily.

"I don't really get it either…" Kazuichi said in slight annoyance. "All I really know is that a new stuffed animal or animatronic or whatever showed up. Why do these two even talk to be honest?"

"Hey shark-teeth, you're the mechanic." Fuyuhiko stated. "Take these scrap metal pieces of shit apart and figure out why."

"Firstly, I am Monokuma the headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy! I am not a toy!" The bear yelled. "Also, violence against the headmaster is strictly prohibited! Lay a finger on me and you'll have to face punishment!"

Monokuma's last statement caused the shark-toothed mechanic to jump back a little.

"Well, what are you waiting for…?" Fuyuhiko asked. "Take it apart."

"No way, man!" Kazuichi responded, his eyes full of fear. "I don't know what kinda weapons or machinery that thing's equipped with…"

"Tch… Dumbass coward…" Fuyuhiko muttered to himself.

"Wait… Headmaster?!" Nagito asked.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Monokuma replied. "I've been telling you all so since I got here!"

"This just keeps making less and less sense…" Hajime said, seemingly to himself.

"Anyways, I'm glad you've all gathered here!" The bear started. "I'm glad to say your red-headed friend was correct in her guess from earlier! From this point onward, the killing school trip will now commence!"

Killing school trip? Mahiru was right? I do remember asking if we were all going to kill each other, but that couldn't be true, right? The bear must've been just kidding! He had to be!

Monokuma then let out another loud cackle.

"A school trip where everyone gets along has no stimulation at all!" Monokuma exclaimed, still cackling to himself. "It's also boring too! Too damn boring! Nobody wants to play a game like that!"

He then paused and gave us a curious look.

"You guys agree with me, right?" Monokuma asked with a malicious grin on his face. "So, let's begin the killing school trip! Oh, and naturally you guys are the contestants."

Nobody responded. Everyone's faces just turned grim at the mention of a 'killing school trip' and that *we* were the contestants. Even my motto of 'stay positive' bore no meaning now. There was nothing to be positive about. We were all going to be forced to *kill* each other. Mikan fell to the floor and began sobbing loudly. After a good thirty seconds of the only sound able to be heard being just Mikan's sobs, Teruteru finally spoke.

"K-Killing contestants…?!" The chef asked, completely consumed by fear.

"N-No…" Monomi muttered. "No, no, no, no, no! I'm not going to let you do this to my students you big, dumb bear! I will not allow bloody business on this school trip!"

Monokuma then kicked Monomi which, in turn, caused her to let out a loud scream of pain and fly back a couple feet as well.

"Is that any way to talk to your big brother, Monomi?!" Monokuma asked, his voice full of malicious intent.

"Ow! It hurts when you kick me too!" Monomi exclaimed sadly.

"Geez, your brain sure is tiny, Monomi." The black and white bear stated. "How many times do I have to tell you? Pay attention this time. Unless it's in manga, a little sister is never smarter than her big brother."

Monomi let out a couple said wails, but ultimately didn't respond.

"Now then, we got off topic for a while, so let's get back to the explanation of the killing school trip!" The bear said.

"W-What… do you mean… 'killing school trip'…?" Hajime asked fearfully.

"Isn't it obvious by now?" Monokuma asked. "You guys are going to *kill* each other! I just said your red-headed friend was right!"

"Kill each o-other… I see…" Kazuichi said, scratching his forehead. "Kill each other?!"

Tears started to fall from the mechanic's eyes. Obviously, he wasn't taking this well, as was no one else of course.

"N-No… W-What are you saying?!" Teruteru asked, shivering. "T-This is a prank, right?! It's gonna be a prank!"

"Nope! Not a prank!" Monokuma replied. "Don't you think it's waaaaay too boring if you can't leave this island unless you all get along? Sooooo, I'm changing the rules! If you want off this island, you have to kill one of your friends! Then, make it through a class trial without getting caught!"

"Class trial…?' I asked.

"That's right!" Monokuma replied. "The class trial is the real charm of this killing school trip!"

"H-Huh…?!" Nekomaru said. "This doesn't make any sense at all!"

"Alright, allow me to explain." Monokuma started. "If one of you gets murdered, then the surviving members must participate in a class trial! At the class trial, there will be a showdown between the blackened killer and other spotless students! During the trial, you will all present your arguments on who you think the blackened is. The outcome will be decided by the popular vote and if you arrive at the correct answer…" The black and white bear paused. "Only the blackened will be punished and the rest of you will be allowed to continue your killing school trip." He then paused again. "But… if you choose wrongly... Puhu…"

"W-What?!" Fuyuhiko asked angrily. "Don't fuck with us, bear!"

"Let me finish, babyface!" Monokuma commanded. "Anyways, everyone besides the blackened will be punished!"

"T-That punishment…" Nagito started. "It is… What I think it is… Right?"

"If you were think death, yes! Ding, ding, ding! You're correct!" Monokuma cheered. "Anyways, that's it for the rules! Basically, if you kill and get away with it, you get to live and leave this island! However, if you get caught during the class trial, then you'll be punished. Puhuhu, it's a familiar but simple and easy to follow rule."

"So… basically… you're gonna kill us, right…" Kazuichi started. "W-What's the deal… with that? H-How are you gonna punish us… I ain't sure if I want to hear…but…?"

"Oh, your punishment isn't any lousy old death, it's an execution!" Monokuma said happily.

"E-Execution?!" Sonia asked fearfully, her face somehow even paler than it was originally.

"Yes, the pleasing punishment that is one of the perks that follow this killing school trip!" Monokuma started. "Puhuhu, what kinds of spine-tingling executions will we see, I'm already getting excited! There may even be some unique punishments like the Thingamajing Claw impaling you straight through the head!" Monokuma then cleared his throat. "Anyways, any method of killing is fine. Popular ones like bludgeoning, stabbing, strangling and poisoning. To shooting, beating, running over, bombing, slashing, drowing, electrocution, cursing, you name it! If it kills, it's fine! No time-limit, so take all the time you need!" Monokuma then let out another cackle yet again. "It's an all you can murder buffet after all! A murder theme-park! That's what the killing school trip is all about!"

No one spoke. We all just went paler. I found myself clutching my chest. I was finally beginning to wrap my head around all of this. This was all some sick, twisted court case simulator. I pinched my cheek, but I felt it. I felt it! Tears began welling up in my eyes. I wanted to convince myself it wasn't real, but it was. I couldn't help it. I didn't want to kill anyone here. They didn't deserve it. We were all innocent, we hadn't committed any crimes, well, mostly anyways. So why did we have to kill each other?! This wasn't fair! It wasn't fair at all! After a good ten seconds of silence the Ultimate Yakuza spoke.

"D-Don't fuck with me…" He said, his face pale. "Don't fuck with me! Stop this sick fucking prank already!

"T-That's right!" Kazuichi added. "This has all gotta be some sick, shitty prank! Who on earth would kill someone?!"

"Puhu… You'd be surprised…" Monokuma said with a creepy grin.

"I-I don't believe any of this… I don't believe any of this…" Teruteru chanted. "I don't b-believe any of this… I-I don't believe a-any of this!"

"W-What i-if no one ever gets murdered?" Mahiru asked. "D-Does that mean we'll n-never leave this island?"

"Who knows?" The bear responded, sighing afterwards. "Anyways, I'd like you all to proceed on this school trip in a healthy and positive manner!"

"W-Wait just a minute!" Mahiru yelled. "Why do you have to do this?!"

"Well, isn't is obvious?" Monokuma asked. "There's a reason you all need to kill each other."

"E-Eh?" Hajime asked.

"Hold on." Nekomaru said.

He didn't seem to be too affected by this whole thing, but maybe he was just trying to mask his fear.

"You've been running your mouth for quite some time now…" The muscular boy started. "I don't want to get violent, but if I do, I have no idea what might happen!"

"What, a fight?" Akane asked with a devilish grin on her face. "Do I need to beat the crap outta that black and white bear?"

"Who dares to kill?" Peko asked. "I'll put a stop to it with force if I have to!"

"If you keep saying stupid stuff, the athletes in our group are totally going to lose their patience!"

I could see it in their eyes. Their fear had vanished. At this point, it had turned to genuine anger towards Monokuma. I wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my hoodie.

"T-That's right…!" I added, sounding slightly unsure of myself.

"Geez, I said violence against the headmaster is strictly prohibited!" Monokuma said angrily. "If you guys wanna do things by force, then I'll have to fight back with a little force of my own!"

"F-Force?!" Usami asked fearfully. "W-What are you gonna do?!"

"Surge… O gods who dwell between light and darkness… In accordance with our contract I summon thee now…" Monokuma chanted, then he paused for a couple seconds "Come forth, Monobeasts!"

Then, the statue started to rumble causing the ground to shake furiously.

"W-What's happening?!" Hajime asked.

"H-How the fuck are we supposed to know, dumbass?!" Fuyuhiko answered.

Then the exterior of the statue crumbled off and out of it emerged five extremely large robots. I've seen many strange and surprising things since I first came to this island. Things that have raised me up and things that have tested my faith. But, even know the phenomenon in front of me just felt unreal. It was blatantly out of this world. I didn't even know it was possible that that many robots could fit it in just the base of a statue

"H-huh… Huh…?" Sonia asked fearfully.

"W-Why did the statue move?!" Asked Mahiru, her eyes also full of terror.

"They're no statue!" Monokuma affirmed. "They're Monobeasts!"

"M-M-M-M-Monster!" Kazuichi shouted.

"Y-You're the fucking mechanic, man!" Fuyuhiko said, sounding slightly afraid himself. "T-Take t-those robot shits apart!"

"I'm not going near those things! No way, no how!" Kazuichi shouted back.

I couldn't speak, even if I wanted to. The strange thing about genuine surprise is that when it happens, your voice won't let you express it. The sudden appearance of a monster may be a usual occurrence in many games, but not in real life. That's why… I couldn't grasp the reality of this situation. I couldn't even feel fear anymore. All I could do was stand there completely thunderstruck.

I hadn't even noticed that Mikan was still sobbing loudly on the ground. The shy nurse got up off the ground and wiped her eyes.

"N-No… T-This can't be…" She uttered. "T-This can't be happening… T-This is j-just… too weird…!"

"A-Am I having a nightmare or something? Fuyuhiko asked.

"H-Haha… Kyahaha! A nightmare, he says! You t-totally admitted your brain is a total flower patch!" Hiyoko said with a large smile which clearly masked her fear.

"H-Hey, my brain ain't a flower patch!" Fuyuhiko yelled back.

"Geez, you guys sure are a skeptical bunch." Monokuma said. "If something doesn't fit within your narrow notions of common sense, you just deny it outright. How stupid. Ignorant cavemen are better than you all! Classifying events according to their genre is a disease of the modern age."

"Everyone, please stay back!" Monomi commanded. "I-I will protect everyone! E-Even at the cost of my own life…! I will protect everyone!"

"Huh…? What's this?" The black and white bear asked, turning away from us. "Blurg… Ugh… Oh, I know! It's nausea! Your sickly, sweet sense of justice makes me want to puke! Alrighty then, I've decided! You'll need to be my example to everyone!"

"H-Huh?!" The rabbit asked, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "N-No…"

Monokuma then hopped onto one of the Monobeasts and it took to the skies. Out of its wings emerged two large gatling guns which aimed at Monomi. Monokuma then raised his hand and then lowered it, giving the signal to fire. The distinct sound of Monomi's sobs could no longer be heard due to the gatling gun firing. Each bullet hit its mark, filling the rabbit with bullet holes and causing stuffing to fall out of her. Suddenly, a rouge bullet grazed my cheek. I placed on the wound and looked at Monomi. All that remained was her bow, filled with holes and her lifeless, burnt body.

"Wah… Waaaah?" Teruteru muttered fearfully. "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"W-What the hell was that?!" Kazuichi yelled.

"A-blub-blub-blub-blub-blub… It's only the first stage and Monomi's already dead…!" Ibuki said in surprise.

"Is this a demon…?!" Gundam exclaimed. "Maybe… even a weapon from the future?!"

"Monobeasts are dreadful weapons of destruction!" Monokuma cackled.

Even though we had just seen Monomi be killed, even though we had seen how dangerous those monsters were, not a single one of us tried to run away. It's not that we didn't realize it was a monster… We were just… vastly out of our element. None of us had ever experienced anything like this before, so we had no way of dealing with it. That reality was just very lethal at this particular moment.

"Puhuhu…" The bear said with a sigh. "This is oddly satisfying… This feeling of despair… Giving an example was totally the right call!"

Monokuma then let out a loud mischievous laugh. Unlike the loud exuberantly laughing Monokuma, we were all completely frozen. It was as though we all had forgotten how to breathe. We just stood there, completely horrified. It was hard to admit, but we were all completely powerless.

"Now then, I believe I've made my point…" Monokuma started. "Just so we're clear, you guys can't defy me. If you don't want to end up just like Monomi, you better not disobey me. Just so you know… I don't feel mercy or sympathy. Cuz I'm a bear, after all! Also, an excuse like, 'I got high off the tropical atmosphere,' won't work for me at all! Oh, and I've got something for you all!"

The bear held out some kind of tablet in his hand and showed it to us. He then pulled out multiple of them from out of what seemed to be nowhere and then handed them out one by one.

"These are your e-Handbooks!" Monokuma stated. "Don't lose them! These have the rules of the killing school trip, so you can read them more thoroughly at your leisure. Ignorance of the rules is no excuse, either. Well, I guess that's also true with society. Anyways, enjoy the remainder of your killing school trip!"

After he said that, the black and white bear and his terrifying Monobeasts vanished before our eyes. In truth, I was horribly tired. The energy drink from earlier served no purpose after all. It was all so unreasonable. I didn't even care that this was the aftermath. Everyone else looked the same. We all had the same tired look on our pale faces.

"W-What just happened?" Nagito asked.

"U-Um... Um..." Teruteru started. "I…I won't believe it! T-That's all there is to it…"

"I-It'd be one thing if we were up against a human… or even an animal…" Nekomaru started. "What the hell can we do against a monster like that?!"

"I-It's impossible…" Kazuichi stated. "Why is something impossible happening…?"

"Well, it's certainly possible." Byakuya said, fixing his glasses a bit. "Those Monobeasts or whatever they're called *are* machines and it's likely that that Monokuma must also be the same. As long as they're machines it means someone made them and thus, is controlling them."

"But, who could be responsible…?" Peko asked in curiosity. "Why would we be put in such a strange situation…?"

"H-Hey, who is it?! Who?!" Mahiru asked, the angst clear in her voice.

"Aha… haha… It could be anyone…" Teruteru added. "It's not like I believe it anyways… There's no way I'd believe something like that… More importantly, are you guys hungry? Let's stop think about this and just eat."

I gulped. I honestly wasn't in the mood for food right now.

"Y-You can eat first…" I said.

"No matter how confused or upset you are, I don't mind. However, remember this…" Byakuya paused. "I don't know who in the world is orchestrating this, but we don't need to be cautious of those machines or who's controlling them… More than anything… we need to be cautious of is… Ourselves."

Ourselves… He wasn't wrong. We were asked to kill each other. I wouldn't put it past anyone here in such a frenzied state. We couldn't leave now, even if we wanted to and believe me, I wanted to leave. I honestly found it hard to keep my cool, maybe even I could kill. No, I wasn't going to kill! I… I had to stay positive! I wasn't not going to kill anyone! I shook my head.

"Being brought to a tropical island with complete strangers and being ordered to kill each other to escape." Byakuya said. "That creates fear in our minds and the desire to escape that hopeless fear… is our worst enemy."

We all looked at each other's faces. It was obvious from looking at their expressions. Everyone was forced to admit the truth of what he just said. We had to be honest with ourselves and admit we all had that potential. Only a student who kills a classmate can escape this island. Which means in order to escape this hopeless situation, we had to sacrifice a person. However, there was a possibility a murder could never occur, but even I'm no different, so could I even be sure something like that wasn't going to happen? So, in this situation, I didn't have the confidence to say outright. But, once you're suspicious of something, you become suspicious of everything, even yourself. That day had become like no other. It was a day that held significant meaning. On that day, I realized I didn't come here to experience the hope of Hope's Peak Academy, instead I came here to experience the greatest despair of my lifetime.

 **-PROLOGUE-**

 **Welcome To Dangan Island**

 **Panic at the Heart-Throbbing School Trip?!**

 **-END-**

 **Surviving Students : 16**


	12. Chapter 12 - Adaptation

I sat on one of the couches of the hotel, e-Handbook in my hand as I went through the rules of the killing school trip. My body shivered a bit as I went through rules 5 to 10.

Rule 5: Once a murder takes place, a class will begin shortly thereafter. Participation is mandatory for all surviving students.

Rule 6: If the blackened is exposed during a trial, they alone will be executed.

Rule 7: If the blackened is not exposed, the remaining students will be executed.

Rule 8: As a reward, the surviving blackened will be forgiven of their crimes and allowed to leave the island.

Rule 9: The Body Discovery Announcement will play as soon as three or more people discover a body for the first time.

Rule 10: Destroying any property on this island is expressly prohibited. This includes the surveillance cameras and monitors.

I let out an audible, sad-sounding sigh and continued to read the rest of the rules.

Rule 11: You are free to investigate this island at your own discretion. Your actions in this regard are not limited.

Last Rule: Additional school trip rules may be added at the headmaster's discretion.

I shook my head sadly as I raised it from the e-Handbook's screen and turned it off. I looked at the shy nurse in the couch in front of me. She had her hands clasped on the desk, with her head on top of them.

"Mikan…" I said, trying to get her attention.

"H-Huh?" The nurse responded, slowly raising her head from the desk, her hands still clasped.

"How… are you doing…?" I asked, trying my best to give a smile.

Mikan sighed audibly.

"I don't know…" She replied, the fatigue clear in her voice. "I just don't know what to think… It's been two hours already and I can't…. I can't get it off my mind."

I slouched further into the sofa. All of this was just too much. I understood how Mikan felt; I couldn't forget about it too. We were now in a killing game where we would be forced to kill each other if we wanted to leave. Was Monokuma really going to make us do this? It just wasn't right. I had honestly hoped this was all a dream or something, but this was undeniably real. There was no way I could believe this was real, but it was. No matter how much I wanted to believe it wasn't real; I saw it all with my own eyes.

I looked at Mikan. The nurse's eyes drooped as she looked down at the desk in front of her. She was horribly tired, that much was clear. But, she didn't look as nearly as upset I expected she would. She was just tired.

"Hey, Mikan." I started. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Mikan raised her head and smiled at me.

"I'm fine, Chiaki…" The nurse stated, smiling gently. "Thanks for worrying… What about you…?"

"I… I'm alright…" I replied in an unsure tone, yet smiling, sitting up properly and placing both my hands on my desk as I did. "I'm… a little scared though…"

Suddenly, Mikan grabbed my right hand and held it in between hers.

"Chiaki…" She started, smiling gently. "I…I know how you feel… I'm a little scared too… but someone once told me to not give up hope… a-and that we'd find a way out… and that person… was you, Chiaki… You can't give up now… I'm sure… we'll find a way out without having to do all this…"

"I'm really glad, Mikan…" I said, now looking a little better.

Mikan noticed that she was still holding onto my hands and her cheeks turned a dark shade of crimson. She quickly released my hands and moved hers back to her lap.

"Ah, I'm sorry! Please forgive me!" The nurse pleaded.

I shook my head and smiled at her.

"It's not a problem, really." I said, still smiling. "Thank you, Mikan."

Mikan nodded shyly, her cheeks still flushed.

"Y-You know… I wasn't e-expecting to find a friend…" The nurse said softly and shyly, but just loudly enough for me to hear.

"H-Huh?" I responded. "Me neither. I'm a keep to myself kind of girl. I'm usually too occupied with my games to make friends."

"Yeah…" The nurse said shyly. "I'm kind of the same… I've never had any friends before…"

"Huh, why's that?" I asked in curiosity.

Mikan looked a bit upset at my question. She lowered her head and looked down at her lap. Suddenly, the monitor to the right of us turned on. It was Monokuma again. I hated how his smug smile looked, it was just mocking me.

"Ahem, Hope's Peak Academy's School Trip Executive Committee has an announcement to make." The bear started. "It is officially 10:00 p.m. Night time can be confusing… If you're out at night and accidentally meet a killer, then it sucks to be you! But if you're worried about that and can't sleep, I've prepared a cottage on hotel grounds for each of you. Every single one of you, please feel free to rest in your own rooms. However, before you go to bed, I strongly recommend you lock your doors. Puhuhuhu, buh-bye!"

Well, that announcement was creepy.

"Night time, huh? Looks like it's time for us to go to bed." I stated, yawning a bit.

"Y-Yeah…" Mikan replied. "It's the cottages we saw on the way to the hotel, right?"

I nodded in response.

"They should be."

"O-Ok, then. You ready to go?" The nurse asked.

"Yeah." I responded.

We both got out of our seats and walked towards our cottages. Surprisingly, they were right next to each other.

"L-Looks like we're here…" Mikan stated. "They're right next to each other too…"

"Yeah, I suppose we're just lucky." I said, giving a gentle smile.

Mikan nodded happily.

"Yeah… I suppose we were…" The nurse responded, smiling as well.

"Sleep tight, alright?" I said, turning the door knob of my cottage door. "Wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

"Yeah, me neither…" Mikan said as she rubbed her eyes sleepily. "Goodnight, Chiaki."

Mikan entered her cottage and I did the same. The cottage was actually pretty cozy and well furnished. It even had a some kind of console that I wasn't familiar with. It looked like a strange mix between a GameCube and a PS2, but it wasn't either of those. I looked over to the side and saw there was a box for 'Time Travellers'. 'Time Travellers' is a game without a genre, developed by Level-5 and it turned out to be pretty good. It was pretty strange though, this game was only made for portable devices. I didn't question it. I got up, grabbed the game and placed it inside the console. I turned on the TV and the console, watched as the title screen came on and started the game. I tried not to think about what was happening too much. I had to believe that we would get out of here. Even if it wasn't the truth; believing it would keep me sane. I was going to get out of here and no one would kill each other! That's what I had to believe.

 **-CHAPTER 1-**

 **Cats and Dogs**

 **Daily Life**


End file.
